AuthorTopic: Another MKI Windlass install (Read 7461 times)

Our winter project is done and we have installed a bow roller, new port and starboard cleats, a 35 lb Manson Supreme and a Lewmar V700 windlass on a SS bracket. Had our maiden voyage with the new equipment today. We went out to a nearby oil island behind the LA-LB breakwater in a 20 knot wind. Everything performed very well. The anchor set instantly and the windlass worked very well. The only minor issue we had was the anchor rode bunching under the windlass when hauling. This would cause the rode to back up in the unit and slip. It was easily remedied by pressing on the piled rode in the locker to maintain clearance. A photo of the install is attached. Will post all of the details if requested.[attach=#]

Great job 2nd. I also just finished my install. I choose a 15Kg Ronca, on the original bow roller. 40' of 5/16 chain, and 250 feet of 1/2", 3-strand line. The windlass is a Lewmar V-1, on a stainless steel mount. I'm going to try and add some pictures. I also took it out last week and anchored in 20 feet of water. It ran really well. One difference is that I had two foot switch mounts made and put them in the locker, starboard (aft) side. I operate it with the port side hatch closed. A second (rocker) switch is in the cockpit near the engine panel. I also had to add two 8" mooring cleats to the deck - I just did that today. A huge "Thank You" to all the folks who wrote on the threads and the wiki.

I'll get some more pictures at the boat this weekend. Thanks Ron for the advice on the rode, as well as the Wikis of both you and Michael Shaner which were quite influential in our approach. Scotty- we never though of mounting the switches on brackets in the locker- a great idea. Ours are on the side of the locker just aft of where the starboard anchor is stowed. We made sure the switches were easily accessible before putting them there. The deck mold on the anchor well sides has no core and that side abuts the cable chase, making an easy install. I can see heavy duty cables in the anchor well in your photo, does the V-1 have studs on the motor? How did you feed the large wires through to the wet side?T

Hi, #2 . Yes, the windlass motor has large studs which the #2 wire is attached to. I have since cleaned up the installation so that the wire is not as visible - which also keeps it out of the way. It has a large drip loop and goes right through the bulkhead. It is also caulked. The interior wires and connector are (cleaned up and) hidden behind a teak box and some teak strips (which I have not yet finished). The interior also shows the stainless backing straps. I choose not to take out the bulkhead and hide them. I kind of like the stainless look, so I doubt that I'll put on a teak facing strip to cover them. You can also see the bolts that hold the foot switches onto the bulkhead. These switches are really comfortable. I can stand and operate the windlass. It would be an easy modification to make. The plates are basically stainless L brackets (about 80 degree).

Hey 2nd, I notice that you are also carrying two Danforth anchors. What do you do with the rode so that they don't get jumbled up with the main anchor rode? You're right about Ron and Michael. Those guys are like the God Fathers of the Windlass Mob (along with Cap'n Al, Mike, Mark and Rick of Wiki fame).

Scotty & 2nd : If you'll look at some of my photos closely, you'll see the I (long ago-1991?) split the anchor well with a piece of 5'16" Lexan (slides in & out) to keep the anchor rodes separated. That's why I offset the windlass to one side. A thought

Ok- Got to the boat today and took enough pics to document the process. First photo is of the new cleats installed (Catalina Direct 8" aluminum cleats). In this photo you can also see the old roller cut away. The next step was to remove the OEM cleat which had problems with clearance against the roller (this was the topic of a previous thread). We used a C-D roller (24", #Z1758) Garhauer has an identical product. The curvature of the deck required a filler plate (or extensive fiberglass work) and the standard backing plate needed some rework to accommodate resin blobs near the hull/deck joint. Access for all of the under deck work was through the existing Beckson port, although it was at times uncomfortable.

After putting the roller on, we were very unhappy with the Danforth anchors and the way it sits on the roller. We convinced ourselves that a new anchor was in order and purchased the 35 # Manson Supreme from W-M (with coupons).

The anchor lock was purchased from Marine Part Depot, and it was slightly larger than the flat sloped portion of the anchor locker (see second to last photo), which required some filler on the bottom.

We decided on a SS bracket a la Michael Shaner, but the fabricator (Shutts Metalworks) suggested using 1/4" 304 plate, bent into a right angle with diagonal angles welded on the corners. 316 would have been better, but the material cost would have been much higher, since the 304 was scrap.

While waiting for the bracket, we wired the unit. We ran wires to the house battery mounted in the forward starboard settee. The wire run goes from the battery, to the switch/breaker (2nd photo), through the bulkhead into the hanging locker (3rd photo), under the lip of the hanging locker to just under the top of v-berth bulkhead (4th photo), under the v-berth (5th photo) under the forward bulkhead (6th photo which also shows the anchor locker drain plumbing-Terry), up the bulkhead to the starboard chase. To cut the hole in the settee for the breaker, we used an oscillating cutting tool-it worked really well for fiberglass. The total cable length was 19 ft x2 (12V and ground), which required only 6 gauge wire (Genuinedealz.com-awesome), which was confirmed by a call to Lewmar USA (helpful folks). We still need to cable-tie the wires to the underside of the V-berth.

We agonized over the switch location as we were not satisfied there was sufficient room for both the switches and the cleat on the bracket. We eventually decided on the mounting the Lewmar footswitch on the side of the anchor locker (photo 7). We tested them first and found that they switched easily with side foot pressure and the molded anchor holder provided adequate foot rest. The advantage of this location is that there is no core there to get wet, and the wires are right in the chase. The test we performed was of the unit on the bracket prior to having the mounting holes drilled and diagonals welded. We used a spare halyard to position it and wedged it in place while we ran everything to check for clearances.

We had originally intended the windlass to be mounted entirely under the starboard anchor door, avoiding the lip, but pulling it as high as possible. We eventually decided that dropping the windlass under the lip allows better centering on the chain. Furthermore, with the bracket 90 degree angle, the windlass is tilted back ~7 degrees, providing a better feed angle, even when dropped another inch lower in the locker. The dry fit in hand, we drilled through the interior bulkhead to set the location of the hole pattern in the bracket. We then returned the bracket to the fabricator for completion.

While waiting, we mounted the contactor in the chase right next to the bulkhead. By the way, for feeding the wires from the switches, battery and windlass, a cheap fishtape (Harbor Freight) was priceless. Photos 8&9 show the location of the contactor- a yellow water resistant fuse holder for the switch power is visible.

For the windlass cable feedthru, we used a Blue Seas Cable Clam (photo 10). Since the wire are 10 gauge, we passed 2 through a single clam.

The bracket came back from the fabricator. We decided to save $$ and polish it ourselves. The backing plates (photo 11) were made from electropolished 316 stock. While the fabricator rough sanded the bracket, we resanded with coarse then fine emery cloth and finished it off with Mother's Mag Wheel Polish (Pep Boys).

Mounting the bracket was an adventure. I fashioned a drill guide using a 1x2 and a drill press expecting that this would maintain alignment through the locker shell and 1.5 inches of plywood bulkheads. Yeah right. We ended up having to overdrill and correct by as much as 1/16". This brings up another piece of wisdom from Ron. I assumed that since the decorative and structural bulkheads contacted at the top and bottom of the starboard side as well as the top of the port side, that they are in fact in contact. The first (upper) set of holes revealed this to be true, but the lowers had 1/8" gap, mostly due to warpage of the decorative bulkhead. This was remedied when the 4 ea 5/16-18 bolts were fastened, albeit with moments of trepidation as the decorative bulkhead pulled away from the shelf-loudly. The bracket was bedded to the locker with Sikaflex polyurethane adhesive sealer. The OEM cleat removed from the deck was then mounted on the bracket next to the windlass (Photo 12).

The finished product is shown in the original posting, along with the locker doors closed in Photos 13 and 14. We left the old anchors in the locker, but they have no rode. If we find a mud bottom more suitable for the Danforth than the Manson (unlikely), we can just swap the anchor at the shank. Feel free to ask any other questions.

As mentioned earlier we tested the install this week. After setting the anchor, we backed down at 2100 rpm to see whether any problems developed either with the anchor or the bracket install. None were observed.

Lessons Learned:Mount the switch/breaker where you can see it. It may be ugly, but it is really hard to explain its function to someone who has never seen it.

When thru bolting through 1.5 inches of possibly non-contacting bulkheads, drill from both sides.

Wear gloves when handling unfinished SS

Drill the deck to the full ID of a Cable Clam instead of what you think you might need. Silicone grease works well for passing wires through the cable clam rubber, so that it is unnecessary to cut a slot in the rubber.

Good work, 2nd. Good idea on putting the connector box up under the lip of the chase. I also wanted mine available for servicing. I like your location better than mine (on the shelf). nice clean work!!